Sea change (idiom)


Sea change or sea-change is an English idiomatic expression which denotes a substantial change in perspective, especially one which affects a group or society at large, on a particular issue. It is similar in usage and meaning to a paradigm shift, and may be viewed as a change to a society or community's zeitgeist, with regard to a specific issue. The phrase evolved from an older and more literal usage when the term referred to an actual "change wrought by the sea", a definition that remains in limited usage.

Etymology

The term originally appears in William Shakespeare's The Tempest in a song sung by a supernatural spirit, Ariel, to Ferdinand, a prince of Naples, after Ferdinand's father's apparent death by drowning:
Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.

The term sea change is therefore often used to mean a metamorphosis or alteration. For example, a literary character may transform over time into a better person after undergoing various trials or tragedies As with the term Potemkin village, sea change has also been used in business culture. In the United States, it is often used as a corporate or institutional buzzword. In this context, it need not refer to a substantial or significant transformation.